Dish Receiver and iPhone Apps

Our Dish Network receiver died again today. This is our third one!  Now, we’re faithful customers; we pay our bill on time and speak nicely to the equipment, but this type of failure rate is unacceptable.  There are a few simple truths that designers and manufacturers need to realize.  First, people are customers, not consumers.  We buy and use, not consume.  We’re not mindless spending machines. Many of us work hard for the money we spend. Second, when we do decide to buy something, we expect it to work, correctly, right out of the box.  Don’t lie to us and give us applications that are trials in disguise.  Don’t manufacture products with the cheapest parts possible just so we’ll buy it!  Many Americans will pay the extra $20 or $100 just to get a quality product.  Look at the success of the iPod and the brand loyalty of those who use Macs, for example. Do you think they go back just because the Apple logo has a little bite taken out of it? No, it’s because the products work.  Second point:  Apple, the iPhone needs applications other than you or your select group of developers can produce.  We need Adobe Flash and Shockwave and Windows Media Player plugins and a way to edit and produce Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents when we’re without reception (which means no Google Docs & Spreadsheets).  It’d make the iPhone even greater.